AI-assisted summary
• While Purdue eyes first national title, defending champion Florida has the pieces to repeat, while 2025 runner-up Houston is reloaded.
• Highly touted freshmen like AJ Dybantsa at Brigham Young and the Boozer twins at Duke are expected to make a major impact.
• After a dominant season, the SEC attempts to assert itself as the toughest conference in the country.

The ball is tipped, and there they are.

Nearly seven months after Florida was crowned the national champions, a new season of men’s college basketball begins with more than 350 teams starting their march toward the NCAA Tournament. With all of the hyped freshman and numerous transfers, no college basketball team is ever the same as it was last season. Some teams have regressed, while others have improved and are poised to make some noise in what many are hoping will end in cutting the nets.

So with the season ready to begin, here are the top 10 storylines to watch in men’s hoops, as the race to the 2026 Final Four in Indianapolis begins.

Is this finally the year for Purdue, Matt Painter?

After years of disappointing finishes, Matt Painter and Purdue finally got over the hump and reached the 2024 national championship game, only for the Boilermakers to lose to Connecticut.

Two seasons later, this may be the Boilermakers best chance yet. Purdue begins the season the No. 1 team in the USA TODAY Sports coaches poll for the first time, and it’s no secret why. The team return several key veterans, including preseason All-American Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer. Big man Daniel Jacobsen returns from injury and is joined by South Dakota State transfer Oscar Cluff. Painter has all the pieces to finally win it at all, and the Boilermakers would love nothing more than to do it not far from home at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Florida eye’s repeat

Before Connecticut’s back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024, Florida was the last team to win consecutive titles, and the Gators have the pieces to make a serious run toward another championship. While it lost key guards in Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard and Alijah Martin, Florida boasts one of the best front courts in the country.

Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu are back to form a dominant interior duo, and Thomas Haugh returns. Todd Golden then replenished the guard position by bringing in Boogie Fland from Arkansas, Xaivian Lee from Princeton and freshman CJ Ingram. A non-conference slate that includes Arizona, Duke and Connecticut will test the defending champions, as well as a tough SEC slate, but Florida has all the right pieces to return to the Final Four.

Houston reloads

Kelvin Sampson was seconds away from finally winning a national championship before it slipped out of Houston’s hands. It almost feels like Sampson took it personal and decided to go hard in refueling a team that should again make life tough for opponents.

Milos Uzan, Emanuel Sharp and Joseph Tugler are the key returnees, and they will be joined by arguably Sampson’s best recruiting class with forward Chris Cenac Jr. and guard Isiah Harwell leading the group. The blend of young and experienced should bode well for Houston, giving the Cougars more offensive flair to complement their outstanding defense.

UConn, St. John’s battle for Big East

One of the most entertaining conference races will happen in the Big East with Connecticut and St. John’s fighting for supremacy. The Huskies had a down year in their bid to three-peat after losing so much from the title teams. However, Dan Hurley is ready to contend again with veterans Alex Karaban and Solo Ball in place. Meanwhile, Rick Pitino continues the hype in New York City, bringing in transfers in Bryce Hopkins, Joson Sanon and Ian Jackson to join big man Zuby Ejiofor.

These two are miles ahead the rest of the Big East and each will have stiff tests in non-conference play. But we can’t wait to see these two play each other twice in February, with a third meeting potentially in the Big East tournament.

Can AJ Dybantsa bring glory to BYU?

The hype has never been higher in Provo, Utah. Brigham Young feels like it could have its best season with touted freshman AJ Dybantsa arriving to take the Cougars to new heights.

Dybantsa can really do it all on the court, and he will make a strong case to be the first overall pick in next year’s NBA draft. What really helps Dybantsa from other hyped recruits going to not typical power schools is BYU is coming off a season where it went to the Sweet 16. Leading scorer Richie Saunders is back and Robert Wright III arrives from Baylor. This should be a fun team to watch in one of the best home environments in college basketball, and the Cougars feel like they can make their first Final Four.

Can SEC replicate dominant season?

Last season was the year of the SEC, when it dominated the non-conference and sent a record 14 teams to the big dance. Even more impressive, seven of those teams reached the second weekend and the tournament ended with Florida winning it all.

Now, how does the SEC follow up that historic run? Six teams − Florida, Kentucky, Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee and Auburn − start the season ranked and should be solid squads. Vanderbilt, Texas, Missouri, Mississippi and Mississippi State look like they can put up tournament worthy resumes, while Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Georgia may be able to do enough to get in. It will be tough to be just as good as 2024-25, but with all the talent the league possesses, it’s not out of the realm and will be a fun conference season to watch when 2026 begins.

Which transfers make immediate impact?

Some teams swung big in the transfer portal and hit home runs with new additions that are expected to take these squads toward contender status. After a great first season at Michigan, Dusty May got arguably the best transfer in Yaxel Lendenborg, a dynamic guard that can be the missing piece to get the Wolverines to the Final Four. Mick Cronin lacked a true offensive leader at UCLA, and he got one in bucket-getter Donovan Dent.

After another down season, Jerome Tang brings PJ Haggerty to Kansas State, while new coaches at Iowa (Ben McCollum) and North Carolina State (Will Wade) bring in top tier talent to lead a new direction, with Bennett Stirz (Drake) joining the Hawkeyes and Darrion Williams (Texas Tech) now with the Wolfpack. These transfers should bring big changes to their programs, but which one will be the one that takes teams to the next level?

Boozer twins arrive at Duke

Duke royalty arrives in Durham, North Carolina, with Carlos Boozer’s twin sons, Cameron and Cayden, joining the Blue Devils. Both are extremely talented, with the taller Cameron considered one of the best freshman recruits in the country.

Even with the loss of Cooper Flagg and several other NBA draftees, the twins should keep Jon Scheyer’s team one of the best in the country and dominate the ACC. Besides the Boozer twins, the veteran players around them will take on elevated roles, notably Caleb Foster and Isaiah Evans.

Can Kansas get mojo back?

Since Bill Self captured his second national title in 2022, the Jayhawks haven’t been the dominant force they’ve been for much of his tenure. Kansas is 34-22 in Big 12 play the past three seasons, with the last two campaigns having finishes outside the top three of the Big 12 for the first time under Self. Things haven’t gone great in the tournament either. The Jayhawks haven’t reached the Sweet 16 in three appearances, and last year saw the team get knocked out in the first round for the first time since 2005, Self’s second season in Lawrence.

Kansas is hoping to get back to its winning ways, and a good start is bringing in top recruit Darryn Peterson. The roster is completely revamped with Flory Bidunga the main returning piece. The pressure is on for Self to get the Jayhawks back in the title picture and not falling behind in the Big 12.

Which new coach succeeds?

The coaching carousel was certainly spinning in the offseason. Now comes the question of who brings a major turnaround in year one.

Coaches to watch include Darren DeVries at Indiana, Sean Miller at Texas, Will Wade at North Carolina State and Ben McCollum at Iowa, all of which have high expectations. But there are also some names worth watching at programs looking to take steps forward in Richard Pitino at Xavier, Josh Pastner at UNLV, Kevin Willard at Villanova and Ryan Odom at Virginia. Also, can Steven Pearl keep Auburn’s success going taking over for his dad?

In attempting to identify possible subjects for scrutiny on a given college football weekend, we here at Overreaction HQ must avoid getting too far into the proverbial weeds. There are, after all, moments from individual games all across the landscape that could fill a book the size of ‘War and Peace” if we offered commentary on all of them.

We’ll therefore try to limit ourselves to big-picture issues involving the College Football Playoff contenders as the season heads into its final month. We’ll begin this edition of the top five overreactions in ACC country, where the most significant results of Week 10 took place.

The ACC has no at-large candidates

The losses by Georgia Tech and Miami to unranked opponents leave the conference with no teams in the top 10 of the US LBM Coaches Poll. We reiterate, of course, that the polls are not officially considered by the CFP committee, but they often tend to look quite similar. As such, those results would appear to be quite damaging to the league’s prospects for getting multiple representatives into the 12-team playoff.

It’s not entirely out of the question, however, although Virginia, the conference’s highest ranked team for the moment at No. 11, almost certainly will need to get there via the automatic route. Miami, now two games out of the league lead, is a long shot to win the conference championship. But ironically the Hurricanes might still have the best at-large case should they get to 10-2 thanks to that Notre Dame win way back in Week 1. Georgia Tech could also have an argument, but it would necessitate a non-conference win against Georgia in the regular-season finale.

But there’s one other team in the league nobody is talking about that might be able to assemble an at-large resume in the final stretch. That team is Pittsburgh. The Panthers were 2-2 and largely forgotten at the end of September but have rattled off five wins in a row and still have just one loss in conference. They end their campaign with head-to-head opportunities against both Georgia Tech and Miami, and before that they get their own shot at Notre Dame. Even if they run the table they might still get squeezed out of the league title game since they’d lose a potential tiebreaker with Louisville, and the bad loss to Backyard Brawl rival West Virginia will be a drag on their overall body of work. But a 10-2 mark with that set of wins would at least have to be considered.

This year’s Indiana is – Oregon?

Indiana, an 11-1 team in 2024 with no bad losses but no high-end victories, was the most divisive inclusion in the playoff field last season. There will be no such controversy associated with this year’s Hoosiers, who might be even better, but might there be other examples this year?

Just to be clear, the precedent is now established that an 11-1 team from a power conference is not going to be left out. But that will not silence advocates of other programs from questioning such a team’s actual achievements. There might, in fact, be such a team from the Hoosiers’ own conference that would draw such ire. Curiously, it’s a team universally recognized as being Indiana’s most notable win to date.

The analogy with Oregon isn’t perfect. Should the Ducks get to 11-1, their resume will include November wins against Iowa, Southern California and Washington, all of whom will have been ranked at some point during the season even if they don’t end up in the Top 25 when the field is set. Even so, there will inevitably be complaints coming from the general vicinity of some 9-3 SEC squad that said team played a tougher schedule.

Or … Ole Miss?

Heck, it might even be another SEC member that gets the no-good-wins treatment. The Rebels, via the vagaries of the conference’s scheduling computer, happened to miss most of the other teams in the upper half of the standings this year. The Oklahoma win should hold up well, and the Georgia loss is hardly damaging. Though that lone loss might keep Ole Miss out of the title game, much as the lone setback against Ohio State relegated Indiana to the at-large pool last year.

Again, an 11-1 team will not miss the playoff, especially one from the SEC – and especially especially at the expense of a 9-3 or 10-2 team from the same conference. What happens if the Rebels stumble to Florida or Mississippi State late, however? That kind of passionate debate that fuels this sport, so we accept it as part of the scenery.

The bubbly Red River – Texas

OK, we’ve spent a lot of sentences here already busting on followers of the ‘just means more’ league, so let’s look at a couple of specific cases. There are going to be several 9-3 candidates, and the league’s two newest members who brought their storied Red River rivalry with them seem headed in that direction. Let’s see how they might stack up.

We’ll start with the Longhorns, who would have the advantage of the head-to-head result against Oklahoma in hand. The Ohio State loss isn’t egregious, but the one at Florida is. Assuming a victory against last-place Arkansas, Texas can reach 9-3 by splitting its other two remaining contests, which are at Georgia and home against Texas A&M. A win in either of those would likely suffice, but losses in both would leave the ‘horns on the outside. Should they find a way to sweep those challenging contests, they could find themselves back in Atlanta, but given their numerous near disasters that scenario seems far-fetched.

The bubbly Red River – Oklahoma

The Sooners’ situation is somewhat more complicated. Since their two losses are both in conference and the Longhorns and Ole Miss hold tiebreakers against them, they’re likely limited to the at-large pool unless there’s a whole lot of chaos in the standings above them. They have a chance to create a little of that themselves in a couple of weeks at Alabama, but assuming they don’t win in Tuscaloosa they can still get to 9-3 with home victories against Missouri and LSU.

Would that be enough? It would depend on who else is in their immediate vicinity on the board. A non-conference win against Michigan could be a decisive chip, depending on the contenders. Bottom line? Expect plenty of drama in the coming month in a lot of college towns.

Purdue, Duke, Houston and defending national champion Florida are the No. 1 seeds in the first USA TODAY Sports bracketology unveiled ahead of the start of the 2025-26 men’s basketball season.

The Boilermakers are the No. 1 team in the preseason USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball poll. Duke is reloading post-Cooper Flagg with twin freshmen recruits Cameron and Cayden Boozer. Houston is welcoming in a top signing class and the Gators will look to repeat behind preseason All-America center Alex Condon.

On the No. 2 line are Michigan, Brigham Young and Connecticut and St. John’s from the Big East. The Wolverines have an elite transfer class starring forward Yaxel Lendeborg and the Cougars are looking to reach the first Final Four in program history behind freshman AJ Dybantsa.

Rounding out the top four lines are No. 3 seeds Texas Tech, UCLA, Alabama and Louisville, and No. 4 seeds Illinois, Iowa State, Kentucky and Arizona.

Kansas is a No. 5 seed in our debut bracket. North Carolina lands on the No. 8 line after losing in the first round of last year’s tournament. Gonzaga is a No. 7 seed but is picked to win the West Coast Conference regular-season championship for the first time since 2022-23.

The play-in games pit Kansas State against Marquette and Virginia and Vanderbilt.

AI-assisted summary
• The Kansas City Chiefs lost to the Buffalo Bills 28-21, marking their fourth consecutive one-possession loss.
• For the first time in his career, quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed less than half of his passes in a game.
• The Chiefs’ loss dropped them to a 5-4 record and out of a playoff spot in the current AFC standings.

ORCHARD PARK, NY – Woe is KC.

Patrick Mahomes added another first to his distinguished NFL track record on Nov. 2, but this was one that the legendary Kansas City Chiefs quarterback can do without.

For the first time in his NFL career, Mahomes didn’t complete even half of his passes during a 28-21 loss against the Buffalo Bills – and the 15-for-34 stat line was hardly the worst of it.

Mahomes’ rough day, which included a lot of duress, too many wayward throws and just enough blown opportunities, was symbolic of a bigger picture.

“We’ve got to learn from it,” Mahomes said afterward.

He sounded testy and urgent, like you probably would if you were chased around all afternoon with few escape routes because the pocket kept collapsing. Mahomes was sacked three times and hit 15 times by a battered, undermanned unit that was supposed to be ripe to be shredded by a quarterback who came to town on a hot streak.

“We’ve got to do it now,” Mahomes added. “There’s no easy game coming up and there’s no chances where we can take losses. So, we’ve got to learn from it fast.”

While Mahomes suffered through the disconnections, his Bills counterpart, Josh Allen, could hardly miss. Allen had just three incompletions, completing 23 of 26 passes for 273 yards, with a touchdown, zero interceptions and a 123.2 passer rating. But Allen had help from a rushing attack that Mahomes lacked, as James Cook ran for 114 yards on a clock-hogging 27 carries that helped Buffalo log nearly 35 minutes of possession time.  

When someone asked if he envisioned seeing the Bills again in the AFC playoffs, given that historical pattern in the compelling rivalry, Mahomes shot back with his truth.

“I mean, we’ve got to get there first,” he said.

Wait, are Chiefs in danger of missing the NFL playoffs?

Let that sink in. The three-time defending AFC champs not in the playoffs?

Well, if the playoffs began tomorrow, the Chiefs (5-4) would be sitting at home. They left Highmark Stadium in the eighth slot in an AFC race that will take seven teams to the playoffs. The Jacksonville Jaguars, who beat the Chiefs in Week 5, currently hold down the seventh slot. And in the AFC West, the division Kansas City has won the past nine years in a row, the third-place Chiefs are looking up at the Broncos (7-2) and Chargers (6-3).

In another sense, it’s a good time for a bye. Just because. Kansas City gets two weeks to regroup before a Week 11 showdown at Denver that will have even bigger repercussions than losing again to the Bills.

Yet leave it to the Bills – Buffalo (6-2) notched a fifth consecutive regular season win against Kansas City but is 0-for-4 in the playoff meetings against Mahomes & Co. – to give the Chiefs a whole lot to think about during their bye.

Remember the team that always won the close ones? Kansas City set an NFL-record by winning 17 consecutive one-score games and was 12-0 in such close calls last season on the trek to Super Bowl 59.

Well, that streak ended with a Week 1 loss against the Chargers, 27-21, in Brazil. And Sunday marked the fourth consecutive one-possession loss by the Chiefs. They also lost 20-17 in the Week 2 Super Bowl rematch against the Eagles, which left them 0-2 for the first time with Mahomes. They fell by a 31-28 margin at Jacksonville.

“We’ve got to be able to battle,” Mahomes said. “We’ve been in a lot of these tight, close games in our history, but they’re not going our way now.

“How do we deal with adversity? How do we do be better and learn from these losses? We’ve got to learn from it fast. It’s going to be an uphill battle when we get back. But I think our guys are up to it.”

Bills defense left Mahomes scrambling, just not for yards

Remarkably, given the flow of the game, the Chiefs still had a chance for a miracle as Mahomes had two Hail Mary throws from midfield batted down near the goal line. That opportunity came when Matt Prater’s 52-yard field goal attempt caromed off the right upright.

Hey, sometimes stuff happens. Mahomes had another milestone marker of sorts earlier in the fourth quarter with a 29-yard strike to Rashee Rice on fourth-and-17 that was the longest fourth-down conversion of his career. It set up a Kareem Hunt TD run and two-yard conversion pass to Travis Kelce that made it a one-possession game.

A few minutes later, Mahomes, who had his lowest passer rating of the season (57.2), was intercepted by rookie cornerback Maxwell Hairston after flinging a deep heave toward Xavier Worthy.

Mahomes explained that he realized Worthy was covered but opted to throw rather than take a sack. It sounded like the rationale of a man who felt way too much heat.

“They did a good job of pushing the pocket,” he said of the Bills defense. “I’ve got to do a better job in the pocket, finding different lanes to step up through.”

Maybe so, but on the other side, the Bills were locked in to shutting off such lanes. Mahomes, who came into the game with more rushing first downs than any NFL quarterback, scrambled once for five yards and was sacked twice as he tried to escape the pocket. It was that kind of a workday.

Mahomes, under 50% passing. Go figure.

“I didn’t know that,” Bills edge rusher A.J. Epenesa said. “I just know he had (nearly) zero scrambling yards, which was my emphasis of the week. This year, he’s been scrambling more than he has the past four to six years, and he’s under duress. When we can add that pressure and keep him in the pocket … it makes a difference.”

With impact that reverberates across the entire NFL.

Contact Jarrett Bell at jbell@usatoday.com or follow on  X: @JarrettBell

AI-assisted summary
• Several NFL players, including Breece Hall and Jakobi Meyers, are subjects of trade rumors ahead of the deadline.
• Multiple Cincinnati Bengals defenders, Logan Wilson and McKinnley Jackson, have requested to be traded.
• The New Orleans Saints and Miami Dolphins are among the teams that could be sellers at the deadline.

The window to deal is about to expire as the clock ticks toward the NFL’s trade deadline.

Multiple teams have already made transactions ahead of the 4 p.m. ET, Nov. 4 cutoff. There was even a rare Saturday trade when the Philadelphia Eagles acquired former Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander from the Baltimore Ravens.

More trades are expected to occur before Tuesday’s deadline. Could we see the Miami Dolphins, Tennessee Titans or New Orleans Saints be sellers? Are Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys going to make a move? Will the Las Vegas Raiders acquiesce to wide receiver Jakobi Meyers’ trade request?

The answers to those questions and more will soon be answered. USA TODAY Sports went around the NFL to investigate the latest rumors in advance of the trade deadline:

Could the New York Jets trade Breece Hall?

Multiple NFL teams remain interested in Hall despite Jets coach Aaron Glenn shooting down trade speculation.

“It could go either way,” a source close to the situation told USA TODAY Sports. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Hall is on the final year of his rookie contract. His 759 yards from scrimmage ranked in the top 10 in the league entering Week 9.  

Running back Braelon Allen’s (knee) status on injured reserve could factor in the team’s decision.

Logan Wilson, McKinnley Jackson trade requests in Cincinnati

Wilson hopes to be traded out of Cincinnati, a person close to the situation told USA TODAY Sports. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Wilson asked for a trade more than a week ago and that request remains.

The linebacker has seen his snap count decrease. He signed a four-year contract with the Bengals in 2023.

Jackson has also requested a trade, a person familiar with the situation informed USA TODAY Sports. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

The defensive tackle has been a healthy scratch for most of the season. The Bengals drafted Jackson in the third round of the 2024 draft. He’s the third defensive player to ask out of Cincinnati in recent weeks. The Bengals released DT Mike Pennel after he asked out. He subsequently re-signed with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Also in Cincinnati, it’s unlikely the Bengals will deal Trey Hendrickson despite the defensive end being on an expiring contract. Hendrickson had requested a trade over the offseason amid a contract impasse, but he rescinded the ask after Cincinnati gave him a one-year pay bump.

Are New Orleans Saints sellers?

Saints wide receivers Rashid Shaheed, Brandin Cooks and Chris Olave are rumored to be available. However, people around the league believe Shaheed and Cooks are more likely to be dealt if the Saints choose to go in that direction.

If the Saints are indeed sellers, players could be available on both sides of the ball.

Jerry Jones, Cowboys going to make move?

Jones appeared on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas and described the type of player the Cowboys would trade for.

‘One that loves football. Loves football. That seems trite. Why wouldn’t they be out there playing? Some do more than others,’ Jones said, per the Cowboys official website. ‘And so you’re looking for guys that just are from within, self-motivators, miserable when they don’t play well and they exude that around their teammates. That’s just a little thing called makeup right there. Now obviously you want to get a player that is in the top percentile of the kind of players that you’d like to go forward with. That has a price tag.’

The Cowboys need help on defense. They entered Week 9 with the worst defensive unit in the NFC.

Jakobi Meyers’ trade request in Las Vegas

Meyers remains a name to monitor during the deadline after he requested a trade. Meyers tallied four catches for 24 yards in the Raiders’ 30-29 Week 9 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Teams such as the Pittsburgh Steelers are believed to be interested in wide receiver help.

Are Miami Dolphins entering a rebuild?

After sending Jaelan Phillips to Philadelphia, multiple teams are rumored to be interested in edge rusher Bradley Chubb. Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle is unlikely to be dealt.

Teams calling about Seahawks defenders

Teams have inquired about Seahawks linebacker Boye Mafe and cornerback Riq Woolen, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Mafe and Woolen are both on expiring contracts.

Time to shop in Tennessee?

While the Titans have reportedly made quarterback Cam Ward and defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons untouchable, other players in Tennessee are rumored to be available.

The Titans have already traded cornerback Roger McCreary to the Los Angeles Rams.

Tennessee dropped to 1-8 after a Week 9 loss. The latest defeat could embolden the Titans to start thinking about the future.

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.

• NFL Week 9 provided some topsy-turvy results, with several challenges to the emerging pecking order.
• The Colts previously looked unstoppable, but Daniel Jones and the high-powered offense came apart against the Steelers.
• The surging Chiefs met their match against a Bills team still seeking a postseason breakthrough.

The 32 things we learned from Week 9 of the 2025 NFL season:

1. No lead is safe, no team is as good as you might think and maybe none are as bad, either.

2. The Indianapolis Colts, at 7-1, entered the weekend with the league’s best record … and got handled 27-20 in Pittsburgh by a Steelers squad coming off consecutive losses.

3. Admittedly, I was wrong about Indy – I thought the Colts would be picking near the top of the draft in 2026, not competing in the playoffs … in all likelihood. But they had gotten awfully fat on a schedule packed with low-nutrition opponents like the Dolphins, Raiders and Titans (twice).

4. Facing a Pittsburgh defense that was among the league’s most woeful – and the NFL’s worst against the pass – going into Sunday, Indianapolis QB Daniel Jones (5 turnovers) played not like a potential Most Valuable Player candidate but like the New York Giants version of himself facing the Steel Curtain. That performance helped render fellow MVP aspirant Jonathan Taylor into a mere mortal – 57 yards from scrimmage and nary a TD.

5. The number of consecutive times the Buffalo Bills have beaten the Kansas City Chiefs … in the regular season. Buffalo prevailed 28-21 at Highmark Stadium on Sunday.

6. In so doing, the Bills held K.C. QB Patrick Mahomes to the first game of his illustrious nine-year career when he did not complete at least 50% of his passes, the three-time Super Bowl MVP connecting on just 15 of his 34 throws.

7. Mahomes’ chances for a third league MVP also took a hit Sunday … but you can bet he hasn’t forgotten that he’s also 4-0 against Buffalo in the playoffs.

8. Six hundred miles to the north and west of Pittsburgh, another projected No. 1 seed, the Green Bay Packers, laid an egg at home to a Carolina Panthers squad fielding a battered offensive line. No matter, it turns out, as RB Rico Dowdle made the Pack D the latest one he’s victimized in a banner season that’s seen him displace Chuba Hubbard as Carolina’s bellcow.

9. If an inability to handle Dowdle wasn’t bad enough, the Pack also didn’t move the ball very well six days after torching the very same Steelers who rocked the Colts. (This league, man … who frickin’ knows?)

10. And who frickin’ knew Dowdle couldn’t thrust a pair of celebratory pumps following his second visit to the end zone Sunday?

11. Maybe the Packers need to get out of the throwback uniform business, because they didn’t look all that great literally, either, in their navy/brown/coppery “1923 Classic” uniforms.

12. However we appreciate the commitment of the Guardian Cap folks, who engineered something for Green Bay WR Romeo Doubs. He wore the padded cover, as he customarily does during games … though it didn’t quite resemble a leather helmet worn more than a century ago.

13. Green Bay went from the NFC’s No. 1 projected playoff seed at the start of Sunday to No. 4 by day’s end – and fortunate to still be atop the quickly condensing NFC North.

14. The idle Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers moved to the top of the NFC standings, along with the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams, though the reigning champs are technically now first thanks to their 5-1 conference record.

15. Meanwhile, the Colts retain the top spot in the AFC – for now – by virtue of their 6-1 record in conference games. That aside, they are in a three-way tie with the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos, who both improved to 7-2 on Sunday.

15a. The reigning conference champion Chiefs, still dynastic as far as we know, would make the playoffs if the season ended today. It doesn’t.

16. With Jones and Taylor flopping in Steel City, Mahomes’ Chiefs falling in Western New York and the Bucs’ Baker Mayfield on bye, have any new MVP candidates entered what’s become the opposite of a short list?

17.Maybe Patriots QB Drake Maye? He orchestrated yet another win Sunday with a typically efficient performance even if it was the second-year star’s most scintillating afternoon in a one-point escape from the Atlanta Falcons.

18. Maybe Buffalo’s Josh Allen hangs on to the hardware for another year after generating another three TDs (2 rushing, 1 passing) against the Chiefs.

19.But for my money, it’s QB Matthew Stafford, who’s thrown nine TD passes (against 0 INTs) in his last two outings for the scalding Rams, who have won their last three games by a combined score of 86-20.

20. The number of NFL seasons played by recently signed Broncos TE Marcedes Lewis, who made his season debut Sunday.

21. Speaking of surprises, who had the Minnesota Vikings, QB1 J.J. McCarthy freshly reinserted into the lineup and accounting for three TDs, beating the Lions in Detroit for the first time since the 2020 season

22. However newly extended Lions DE Aidan Hutchinson did (barely) manage to sack McCarthy, his former University of Michigan teammate, in their first meeting as pros.

23. Another former Wolverine, Chicago Bears TE Colston Loveland, had to yet to score in his rookie season but posted his first two professional touchdowns in Cincinnati on Sunday – including the game-winning 58-yard run-and-catch with 17 seconds to go.

24. Dowdle 2.0? How about Chicago rookie RB Kyle Monangai? Starting in place of injured starter D’Andre Swift, Monangai exploded for 198 yards from scrimmage in Sunday’s victory.

25. Overall, the ascending Bears and rookie HC Ben Johnson enjoyed their most prolific offensive output of the season with 47 points and 576 yards. QB Caleb Williams passed for three scores and caught his first career TD from WR DJ Moore on a trick play.

26. Cincinnati QB Joe Flacco did torch Chicago’s defense for 470 yards and four touchdowns through the air – remarkably, the first time in Flacco’s 18-year career that he’d thrown for more than 400 yards.

27. No quarterback – not Tom Brady, not Aaron Rodgers, not Warren Moon – has thrown for more yards in a regular-season game after his 40th birthday than Flacco did Sunday.

28. But the disastrous loss to the Bears should at least clarify one important matter to the Bengals: It’s time to get all that they can for Pro Bowl DE Trey Hendrickson and move him prior to Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET trade deadline.

29. Sunday’s decisive loss to the Rams might clarify two important considerations for the New Orleans Saints as well.

29a. Now 1-8, New Orleans GM Mickey Loomis should break with his track record and consider a fire sale going into Tuesday, perhaps even dangling WR Chris Olave to potential trade partners.

29b. Currently perched atop the 2026 draft order, the Saints will almost certainly be taking a quarterback in the first round next year for the first time in 55 years – Archie Manning in 1971 the last one they took in Round 1.30. The San Francisco 49ers remain in the thick of the hunt – largely thanks to the Herculean effort of RB Christian McCaffrey, who had 173 yards from scrimmage and two TDs in Sunday’s defeat of the New York Giants.

31. CMC has a realistic shot to become the first player with multiple seasons of 1,000 yards both rushing and receiving.

32. The kicking portion of the NFL record book continues to be rewritten, Jacksonville Jaguars K Cam Little hitting a record 68-yarder in his team’s 30-29 overtime win at Las Vegas. Your move, Brandon Aubrey.

Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn said there was no discussion in leaving quarterback Jayden Daniels in the game, a prime-time blowout against the Seattle Seahawks in which Daniels suffered a gruesome left elbow injury.

With the benefit of hindsight, Quinn said, it could have played out differently.

‘The hindsight, you don’t want to think that way, where injury could take place,’ Quinn told reporters after the 38-14 loss. ‘You’re more conservative in that spot, running and handoffs and not have reads to go.’

Daniels had already missed three games due to injury – a knee ailment that kept him out Weeks 3 and 4, and a more-recent hamstring injury that caused him to miss the Commanders’ game six days prior against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Halfway through the fourth quarter and the Commanders trailing 38-7, Daniels took a shotgun snap from the Seahawks’ two-yard line. Seahawks linebacker Drake Thomas wrapped him up and flung the quarterback, listed at a generous 210 pounds. Daniels’ left arm landed awkwardly and bent in a way that no arm should.

Asked if they’d handle Daniels differently in the future, Quinn mostly demurred.

‘It’s really important we get that part right,’ he said. ‘And we will.’

The play that resulted in the injury is a run-pass option, Quinn said, but not a designed run for the quarterback. If they ran the play 50 times, then 50 times it would be a handoff or a pass, Quinn predicted.

‘Just the end result, I’m bummed,’ Quinn said.

The Commanders fell to 3-6 with a hefty dose of standalone games through the second half of the season. They’ve battled the injury bug all year long. Running back Austin Ekeler ruptured his Achilles. After a training camp contract standoff, wide receiver Terry McLaurin has been unable to stay healthy. Another wideout, Luke McCaffrey, left on the first play of the game against the Seahawks.

But the ‘Sunday Night Football’ result wasn’t due to injuries, Quinn said.

‘I don’t have to ask that question. I know what happened,’ Quinn said.

He elaborated. Penalties (eight for 87 yards) on both sides of the ball. The lack of stops, as the Seahawks hung 418 net yards on the defense. Washington’s offense gained 4.7 yards per play, but Seattle’s was going at a 8.7-yard-per-play clip.

‘I’m furious,’ Quinn said of his team’s performance.

‘Just (an) unacceptable performance … we missed it by a mile,’ he added.

And gutted for his quarterback.

The reaction across the Commanders’ locker room largely mirrored that of Quinn’s.

‘It’s gut-wrenching,’ right guard Sam Cosmi told the Washington Post.

Kyle Larson, long described as one of the best wheelmen in motorsports, is now a two-time NASCAR champion.

Larson, 33, outdueled fellow title contenders Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe and William Byron to win the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series championship Sunday, Nov. 2 at Phoenix Raceway, the same track where he captured his first title in 2021.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver, who started third, also finished third in the No. 5 Chevrolet behind race winner Ryan Blaney, who notched his fourth win of the 2025 season with the overtime victory following a late-race caution for Byron’s flat tire. Brad Keselowski finished second.

But Larson’s result was enough to deliver a championship in a format in which four drivers go head-to-head in the final race and the best finish wins.

Larson also joined elite company, becoming just the third Hendrick driver to win multiple championships. The others are Hall of Famers and two of the best in auto racing history: seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson and four-time champion Jeff Gordon.

After climbing out of his car, Larson immediately embraced his wife and team owner Rick Hendrick and celebrated with his children.

‘Honestly, I really can’t believe it. Like we didn’t lead a lap today and somehow still won the championship,’ a stunned and exhausted Larson said in a post-race interview with NBC. ‘Really I’m just speechless; I can’t believe it. We had an average car at best …

‘We got lucky there with that final caution. I was really hoping we were going to take two (tires) again because I felt like I learned a lot on the previous restart.’

Hamlin finished sixth, but was just three laps from winning his first championship after 20 full-time seasons in the Cup Series. The 44-year-old had the dominant car all day, leading 208 laps, and was cruising to the race win and the title when the caution flag came out as Byron crashed into the wall with a flat right front tire in Turn 4.

Larson was among a handful of drivers who took just two tires on the caution ahead of the overtime restart, while Hamlin took four. That allowed Larson to restart five spots ahead of Hamlin for the two-lap overtime sprint.

Hamlin was circumspect but clearly dejected in a post-race interview with NBC after the one item missing from his Hall-of-Fame résumé slipped away.

‘Nothing I could do different. I mean I prepared as good as I could coming into the weekend. My team gave me a fantastic car. It just didn’t work out,’ Hamlin said. ‘I was just praying for no caution, and we had one there. What can you do. It’s just not meant to be.

‘The team did a fantastic job. They prepared a championship car; it just didn’t happen.’

Briscoe 18th and Byron 33rd in what could be the final season of the one-race championship or even 10-race elimination playoff format.

While Larson celebrated his championship, Blaney also got to celebrate winning the final race of the season.

‘It’s just cool to end it on a good note. It’s just cool and obviously we had a fast car all day,’ Blaney said. ‘I’m just really proud of the whole group and cool to end it in victory lane. It’s a shame we weren’t in the Championship 4. Congrats to Kyle and that whole team.’

USA TODAY Sports had full coverage of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race. Scroll below for full race recap and highlights.

NASCAR Championship Race highlights

Watch the extended highlights from the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway:

William Byron hits the wall, sends NASCAR Championship to overtime

With three laps remaining in the race, William Byron, who was running second to Denny Hamlin, suffered a flat right front tire to bring out the caution and send the race to overtime.

Following stops where three drivers stayed out and a handful took only two tires, Kyle Larson restarts fifth, Denny Hamlin 10th and Chase Briscoe 15th. William Byron is two laps down after his crash.

NASCAR Championship Race update: Hamlin and Byron run first and second

Denny Hamlin and William Byron raced past fellow championship contenders Chase Briscoe and Kyle Larson on restart to run first and second, respectively.

Joey Logano sits in third, Ryan Blaney fourth, Kyle Larson fifth and Chase Briscoe sixth.

NASCAR Championship Race update: Caution comes out with 33 laps left

JJ Yeley suffered a wheel issue entering Turn 3, to bringing out the caution flag, allowing all the field to come down pit road for fresh tires.

Chase Briscoe and Kyle Larson each took only two tires to vault to the front row. Denny Hamlin and William Byron each took four tires, and run third and fourth, respectively – putting all four Championship 4 drivers at the front of the field.

Denny Hamlin takes lead on restart on NASCAR Championship Race

Denny Hamlin outdueled William Byron on a restart on Lap 267 of the 312-lap NASCAR Cup Series Championshp Race to retake the lead. Hamlin then built up a 1-second lead over Byron as each seek their first championship. Ryan Blaney runs third, followed by Josh Berry, Joey Loagno and Chase Briscoe. Kyle Larson races in 13th position.

Caution comes out for Austin Cindric with William Byron leading

Austin Cindric slammed into the outside wall after a flat tire to bring out the caution on Lap 260 of the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race.

William Byron won the race off pit road after the field came in for tires and fuel. Chase Elliott came off second, Denny Hamlin third and Ryan Blaney fourth. But Elliott was penalized for speeding on pit road, moving Hamlin up to the second position.

Chase Briscoe will restart 10th and Kyle Larson 18th with roughly 50 laps remaining in the race.

NASCAR Championship Race: 60 laps remaining

William Byron passes teammate Chase Elliott for the lead with 60 laps remaining in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race. Fellow championship contender Denny Hamlin, who dominated huge swaths of the race, runs second after also passing Elliott. Chase Briscoe runs 14th, and Kyle Larson 21st.

Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe get flat tires to shake up championship

Kyle Larson got a flat right front tire while running in the eighth position, and moments later, Chase Briscoe suffered a flat right rear tire while running in second. Both drivers were able to get to pit road for service under green but fell one lap down.

A couple laps later, Carson Hocevar also suffered a flat tire and slammed into the outside wall to bring out the caution on Lap 220 of the 312-lap race.

William Byron led Ryan Blaney when the yellow flag came out.

William Byron takes lead as Stage 3 of NASCAR Championship Race begins

William Byron outdueled Ryan Blaney on the restart to take the lead to begin the final segment of the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race. Ross Chastain moved up to second, and Chase Briscoe, who seemed out of the race after a flat tire in Stage 2, has vaulted all the way up to third.

Denny Hamlin is up to seventh ater restarting 11th, and Kyle Larson follows behind in eighth after restarting 18th.

Denny Hamlin wins Stage 2 under caution

Ty Dillon spun and hit the outside wall with three laps remaining in Stage 2 to end the segment under caution with Denny Hamlin leading.

Hamlin has led 159 of 312 laps, and his No. 11 Toyota has been by far the fastest car even as Hamlin battles clutch issues. Ryan Blaney finished second in Stage 2, William Byron third and Kyle Larson fourth. Chase Briscoe rebounded from a flat tire earlier in Stage 2 to surge all the way back seventh after falling as far back as 32nd.

During pit stops, Hamlin’s pit crew had issues getting the jack under the left side due to a flat tire, dropping him from the lead all the way back to 11th. Larson’s pit crew also had problems with the jack, and he fell back to 18th.

Blaney led the race off pit road followed by Byron.

Caution flies on Lap 149 for AJ Allmendinger

The right front tire on AJ Allmendinger’s No. 16 Chevrolet went down, sending the Kauling Racing driver crashing hard into the outside wall to bring out a caution flag on Lap 149. Allmendinger vacated his damaged vehicle, ending his race.

The yellow flag allowed drivers to get fuel and tires under caution, and once again Denny Hamlin won the race off pit road, followed by Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson and William Byron. Chase Briscoe’s pit crew vaulted the final championship contender from 21st to 13th on the stop.

NASCAR Championship Race update: Lap 145

Denny Hamlin has pulled away for another big lead with roughly 40 laps remaining in Stage 2. Ryan Blaney, the 2023 champion, just passed Kyle Larson for second and runs about 2.6 seconds behind Hamlin. Larson runs third and William Byron fourth. Chase Briscoe, the final championship contender sits in 21st position.

Championship contender Chase Briscoe gets flat tire

Chase Briscoe had to come down pit road with a flat right-rear tire on Lap 106, but he was fortunate that a caution flag had come out moments earlier when Shane van Gisbergen spun out.

Briscoe was running fifth at the time, having passed Carson Hocevar a few laps earlier. His team managed to keep him on the lead lap, but he restarted 32nd.

The other lead-lap cars came down pit road for fuel and tires under caution a few laps after Briscoe. Denny Hamlin maintained his position as the leader, with Kyle Larson second, William Byron third and Ryan Blaney fourth.

NASCAR Championship Race: Lap 100 update

Denny Hamlin surged to the front on the restart on Lap 80 and stretched his lead over Kyle Larson to 3 seconds through 40 laps in the 125-lap Stage 2.

William Byron runs third, with three of the four championship contenders in the top 3. Ryan Blaney is fourth, and Chase Briscoe, the final championship contender, has moved up to fifth.

NASCAR Championship race update: Stage 2 begins

Ryan Blaney led the race off pit road at the end of Stage 1, leapfrogging William Byron, who restarted second but lost the spot to Denny Hamlin. Kyle Larson runs fourth and Chase Briscoe gained four spots on pit road and runs sixth behind Caron Hocevar.

The caution flag came out after three laps when John Hunger Nemechek spun across the track after contact to his rear.

William Byron wins Stage 1 of NASCAR Championship race

Championship contender William Byron passed fellow competitor Denny Hamlin with eight laps remaining in the 60-lap opening segment to win Stage 1. Hamlin led the first 52 laps before also being passed by 2023 champion Ryan Blaney with two laps remaining.

Kyle Larson finished fifth and Chase Briscoe 10th.

Stage 1 Top 10 results

1. William Byron
2. Ryan Blaney
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Austin Cindric
5. Kyle Larson
6. Carson Hocevar
7. Alex Bowman
8. Joey Logano
9. Chris Buescher
10. Chase Briscoe

NASCAR Championship race: Lap 25 update

Denny Hamlin has led every lap so far in the 60-lap opening stage. William Byron contiues to run second, slighltly less than a second behind. Austin Cidric runs third, Kyle Larson fourth, Carson Hocevar fifth and Alex Bowman sixth. Chase Briscoe has jumped from the 12th starting position to 10th.

NASCAR Championship begins as green flag is waved

The green flag has waved in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway. Championship contenders Denny Hamlin and William Byron lead the field to open Stage 1. Kyle Larson starts third and Chase Briscoe 12th.

How to watch 2025 NASCAR Cup Series championship race

• Date: Sunday, Nov. 2
• Track: Phoenix Raceway (Avondale, Arizona)
• Time: 3 p.m. ET (1 p.m. local)
• TV: NBC
• Streaming: Peacock and Fubo (free trial for new subscribers)

Stream NASCAR Championship race on Fubo

Who are the 2025 NASCAR Championship 4 drivers?

• Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
• William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports
• Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
• Kyle Larson, No. 5 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports

Who is on the pole for NASCAR Championship Race?

Denny Hamlin won the pole for the NACAR Cup Series Championship Race during Saturday’s qualifying with two other title contenders directly behind him. William Byron starts on the front row alongside Hamlin, while Kyle Larson starts third on the second row alongside Austin Cindric. The final championship contender, Chase Briscoe, qualified 12th.

Sydney Sweeney meets drivers at NASCAR Championship Race

Actress Sydney Sweeney and WNBA star Sophie Cunningham were among the VIPs at the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race drivers meeting at Phoenix Raceway today.

Sweeney also came out on stage with the checkered flag during driver introductions, pumping up the crowd and motivating the drivers. Sweeney stars as women’s boxing trailblazer Christy Martin in the film ‘Christy,’ coming to theaters on Nov. 7.

Cunningham plays for the Indiana Fever, who reached the semifinals of the 2025 WNBA playoffs, and previously played for the Phoenix Mercury.

NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race starting lineup

1. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
2. William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
3. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
4. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
5. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
6. Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
7. Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
8. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
9. Chris Buescher, No. 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford
10. Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
11. Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
12. Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
13. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
14. Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
15. Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 HYAK Motorsports Chevrolet
17. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
18. Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford
19. Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford
20. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
21. Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
22. Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford 
23. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
24. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
25. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
26. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
27. Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford
28. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
29. Justin Haley, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
30. Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford 
31. Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
32. Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota
33. Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford
34. Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
35. JJ Yeley, No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet
36. Casey Mears, No. 66 Garage 66 Ford
37. Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
38. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

How many laps is the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race?

The NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race is 312 laps around the one-mile track for a total of 312 miles. The race will have three segments (laps per stage) — Stage 1: 60 laps; Stage 2: 125 laps; Stage 3: 137 laps.

What are the odds to win 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship?

Denny Hamlin is the favorite to win the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series title among the Championship 4 contenders based on by BetMGM as of 1:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 2:

• Denny Hamlin ….. +190
• Kyle Larson ….. +230
• William Byron ….. +230
• Chase Briscoe ….. +550

NASCAR Championship race odds

Here are the favorites to win Sunday’s race, according to BetMGM odds as of 1:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 2:

• Denny Hamlin (+310)
• Kyle Larson (+350)
• William Byron (+350)
• Ryan Blaney (+425)
• Christopher Bell (+1100)
• Chase Briscoe (+1200)
• Joey Logano (+1400)
• Chase Elliott (+2500)
• Austin Cindric (+2500)

NASCAR Championship 4 driver stats

How the NASCAR Cup Series championship contenders fared in the 2025 Cup Series season:

William Byron

• Car: No. 24 Chevrolet
• Team: Hendrick Motorsports
• Age: 27
• DOB: Nov. 29, 1997

∎ 2025 STATISTICS

• Wins: Three
• Top fives: 11
• Top 10s: 16
• Laps led: 1,278
• Poles: Three

Chase Briscoe

• Car: No. 19 Toyota
• Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
• Age: 30
• DOB: Dec. 15, 1994

∎ 2025 STATISTICS

• Wins: Three
• Top fives: 15
• Top 10s: 19
• Laps led: 881
• Poles: Seven

Denny Hamlin

• Car: No. 11 Toyota
• Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
• Age: 44
• DOB: Nov. 18, 1980

∎ 2025 STATISTICS

• Wins: Six
• Top fives: 14
• Top 10s: 17
• Laps led: 816
• Poles: Four

Kyle Larson

• Car: No. 5 Chevrolet
• Team: Hendrick Motorsports
• Age: 33
• DOB: July 31, 1992

∎ 2025 STATISTICS

• Wins: Three
• Top fives: 14
• Top 10s: 21
• Laps led: 1,106
• Poles: One

Who won the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race last year?

Joey Logano won just one race during the regular season in 2024 but stormed to three victories in the playoffs – crucially, the Championship Race in Phoenix. He captured his third Cup Series title, becoming the 10th driver in history to do so. He took the lead during the final stage and held off Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney to take home the title. William Byron, Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell rounded out the top five.

Who has won the most NASCAR Cup Series championships?

Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson have each won seven championships, most in NASCAR Cup Series history.

• 1T. Richard Petty ….. 7
• 1T. Dale Earnhardt ….. 7
• 1T. Jimmie Johnson ….. 7
• 4. Jeff Gordon ….. 4
• 5T. Lee Petty ….. 3
• 5T. David Pearson ….. 3
• 5T. Cale Yarborough ….. 3
• 5T. Darrell Waltrip ….. 3
• 5T. Tony Stewart ….. 3
• 5T. Joey Logano ….. 3

What time does the NASCAR championship race start?

The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series championship race is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET (1 p.m. local) at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. The green flag is scheduled to drop at 3:34 p.m. ET (1:34 p.m. local).

What TV channel is the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race?

The NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race will be broadcast on NBC. Pre-race coverage will start at 2 p.m. ET (12 p.m. local). The race can be streamed on Peacock and Fubo.